Armored skirt for tanks



Jan. 20, 1953 s, DANDlNl 2,625,859

ARMORED SKIRT FOR TANKS Filed Feb. 7, 1949 IN VEN TOR. duL IANA 5. DA ND/N/ ,4 TTOP/VEY Patented Jan. 20, 1953 UNITED STATE PATENT orFicE ARMORED'SKIRT FOR TANKS Juliana-,8. Dandini, Reno, Nev.

ApplicatiomFebruary 7, 1949; Serial No.-74;887

6 Claims.

1 The present invention relates to-improvements .in armored skirts for tanksgand itsnprincipal object is to provide a'protective skirt for the undercarriageof a tank used in warfare.

From reports of tank casualties during the 'lastwar, it has been demonstrated that they are "most vulnerable in the undercarriage, including the wheels, suspension= means and tread of the caterpillar.

It'is'the object of the'present invention to pro- "vide means for protecting these vulnerable parts by the employment-of two rowsofcylindrical bodies suspended about the undercarriage "with limited freedomof swinging motion and'arranged in such a manner that-the bodies of the outer row cooperate in absorbing the impactofan antitank projectile in part,: thus enablinga co-operating body of the inn'errow to arrest-the-projectile before it reaches the undercarriage.

It is further 7 proposed toarrange the protec- *tivebOdies insuch a-mannerthat they are free to swing and yieldto irregularities in the ground surface 'so "that they do n'ot unduly-hindentank movements.

- Itis furthercontemplated tosuspend the protecting bodies about the undercarriage insuch-a -manner'that they-may be readily attaohedand detached for removal when the tank-is not-engaged in combat operations and for replacement of damaged ones.

Further objects and advantages ofmy invention will appear as the specification proceeds and the novel features of the same will-befully-defined in the claims attached hereto.

The preferred formof my invention -is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming part of this application, in which:

--'Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a tank having my armored skirt attached thereto;

Figure 2 a vertical section, on--an-:enlarged scale, through the armored skirt;

i Figure 3, a top plan view of a portion of the I armored skirt, and

v Figure 4, a detail view, in side elevation, of a brush-clearing scythe attached to the front of the tank.

While I have .shown only the preferred form of my invention, it shouldbe understoodthat various changes or modifications-may be made within the-scope of the claims hereto-attached for accommodation of ascythe 5 adapted-forcutwithout departing from-the spiritiof'ithezinventi'on.

Referring to the drawing in detail, theatank I may be of any suitable form well known inirthe a-rt,and comprises ansundercarriage 2 preferably of the .caterpillartypeand a body .3 supported thereon.

. In carrying out my. invention,.I provideiaf steel girder or railing 4 oneach side of the .tank body above the :height vof the undercarriage, the. .railings projecting outwardly. .beyond 1 the lund'ercarriage and running parallel to the'tankbody.

Portions of the railings'may be made toiextend about the front of .the .tank, or :portionszthereof, as shown, leaving a lfront centralwportionrfree ting underbrush, :dense vegetation, @hedgesor other obstacles.

The scythe 5 is preferably mounted for swingsting movement .into inactive position asshown in dotted .lines in Figure 4.

:The railing d has two rowsiof metallic. :cylindrical r bodies 1. 6 suspended therefrom, .ithe' "two :rows paralleling the .tank body. .The bodiesare sufficiently .long to. extend substantially. tothe ground surface, andare freely suspendedtso that they may yield when the bottom ends meet ground obstacles.

The two rows of cylindrical bodies .runtparallel to one another,:one-beingfairly close tolthe tank and being identified v.asthe inner row xand the other being outside the inner row and being identified as the outer row. The bodies are suspended from the railing by means of the hooks ladepending from the railing, and eyelets 8 on the cylindrical bodies engageable 'overthe'hooks. The railing has a downwardly projectingoverhang ll to protect thehooks and the eyelets.

The two rows of cylinders are prefer-ablyarranged in the manner shown in Figures v2 and 3, the two rows being located on opposite sides of a central plane, with thecylinders of eachrow slightlyspaced from one another, and the cylinders of one row arranged in staggered. relation with those of the other row. This gives each of the cylinders a limited freedom of swingingmotion.

When the skirt formed by the two rows of cylindrical bodies ishit by an anti-tank projecstile, identified by the numeral ,9, the. outer. row

is intended to partly absorb the shock of the first impact by deflecting the projectile, while the inner row definitely arrests the flight of the projectile. This action takes place regardless of the angle at which the projectile strikes, and regardless of the location of the first point of impact.

A few possible hits have been indicated in the drawing in Figure 3. The upper projectile 9a is shown as striking one of the outer cylinders perpendicularly, but off-center, and it will be noted that the projectile is first deflected toward the neighboring cylinder, and then again toward the cylinder of the second row, so that when it reaches the latter cylinder its force has already been spent in part by the resistance offered by the cylinders of the first row.

It should be noted that due to the arrangement of the cylinders the resistance offered by the two cylinders of the first line is of progressively increasing strength. At first the projectile merely wedges itself between the two first cylinders struck. But each of the cylinders, in swinging sidewise through a limited distance, strikes adjacent cylinders, thereby increasing the resistance offered, and the adjacent cylinders again will spread the motion through further cylinders until the gap between the first two cylinders has increased sufiiciently to allow the body of the projectile to pass.

The diameter and weight of the cylinders should be calculated according to the resistance desired for meeting anticipated impacts of projectiles and the spacing between the cylinders should be calculated to cause the projectile to spend a certain percentage of its force, say about fifty per cent, on breaking through the first line of the cylinders, so that the cylinder of the second line finally struck by the projectile will have to bear only a much reduced impact.

The percentage of resistance assigned to the cylinders of the first and second lines may, of course, be varied for best results as established by calculation, experimentation and experience in actual use.

A second projectile 9b is shown as making a direct hit centrally between two cylinders of the outer row, while a third projectile 9c strikes a glancing blow at one of the outer cylinders and in each case the result is approximately the same as previously described, the force of the impact spreading itself substantially as indicated by the arrows.

It will be noted that the cylinders are easily attached and detached, and may be readily removed for loading upon a special trailer drawn by the same tank, to be reapplied when combat is expected. Damaged cylinder may be readily replaced by new ones.

Each of the cylinders is preferably provided with an encircling band I of rubber or similar material to reduce rattling and excessive knocking while the tank is in motion.

The suspended bodies of the skirt have been described as being cylindrical, and this is the preferred form. But it should be understood that slight variations of the form are considered as falling within the scope of the present invention, as long as the efiects produced are practically the same.

I claim:

1. An armored skirt for a tank of the character described, comprising a railing secured to the tank above the undercarriage thereof to project outwardly therefrom, a row of hooks secured upon the railing to project downward therefrom,

and a row of rigid, substantially cylindrical bodies having eyelets at their upper ends engaging over the hooks for swingably suspending the bodies from the hooks.

2. An armored skirt for a tank of the character described, comprising a railing secured to the tank above the undercarriage thereof to project outwardly therefrom, a row of hooks secured upon the railing to project downwardly therefrom, and a row of rigid, substantially cylindrical bodies having eyelets at their upper ends engaging over the hooks for swingably suspending the bodies from the hooks, the railing having a downwardly projecting overhang to protect the hooks and eyelets.

3. An armored skirt for a tank of the character described, comprising a railing secured to the tank above the undercarriage thereof to project outwardly therefrom, a row of hooks secured upon the railing to project downward therefrom, a second row of hooks secured upon the railing to project downwardly therefrom in parallel relation to the first row and in staggered relation with respect to the hooks of the first row, and two rows of rigid, substantially cylindrical bodies having eyelets at the upper ends engaging over the hooks for swingably suspending the bodies from the hooks.

4. An armored skirt for a tank of the character described, comprising a railing secured to the tank above the under carriage thereof to project outwardly therefrom, a row of hooks secured upon the railing to project downward therefrom, a second row of hooks secured upon the railing to project downwardly therefrom in parallel relation to the first row and in staggered relation with respect to the hooks of the first row, and two rows of rigid, substantially cylindrical bodies having eyelets at the upper ends engaging over the hooks for swingably suspending the bodies from the hooks, the railing having a downwardly projecting overhang to protect the hooks and the eyelets.

5. An armored skirt for a tank of the character described, comprising a railing secured to the tank above the under-carriage thereof to project outwardly therefrom, a row of hooks secured upon the railing to project downward therefrom, a second row of hooks secured upon the railing to project downwardly therefrom in parallel to the first row and in staggered relation with respect to the hooks of the first row, and two rows of rigid, substantially cylindrical bodies having eyelets at the upper ends engaging over the hooks for swingably suspending the bodies from the hooks, all the bodies being spaced from one another for limited freedom of swinging movement, and the spacing being relatively minor as compared with the diameter of the bodies so as to cause the latter to form a solid barrier to any missile arriving from any direction.

6. An armored skirt for a tank of the character described, comprising a railing secured to the tank. above the undercarriage thereof to project outwardly therefrom, a row of hooks secured upon the railing to project downward therefrom, a second row of hooks secured upon the railing to project downwardly therefrom in parallel relation to the first row and in staggered relation with respect to the hooks of the first row, and two rows of rigid, substantially cylindrical bodies having eyelets at the upper ends engaging over the hooks for swingably suspending the bodies from the hooks, all the bodies being spaced from one another for limited freedom of swinging movement, and the spacing being relatively minor as compared with the diameters of the bodies so as to cause the latter to form a solid barrier to any missile arriving from any direction and the railing having a downwardly projecting overhang to protect the hooks and the eyelets.

JULIANA S. DANDINI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Comtesse Apr. 23, 1861 Number Monster from Mars, April 24, 1938. available in Division 22.)

(Copy 

